MC:P2/7 Dodds-Parker’s term as MP for Cheltenham, 1964–1974

In 1962, Douglas Dodds-Parker renewed his political career when he was chosen as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate by the Cheltenham Conservative Party (a few papers in this section show that his selection was not without controversy), and was successfully elected MP in the 1964 General Election. He held his seat for the next three elections, until he retired at the election of October 1974. Although Dodds-Parker remained a backbencher throughout his second term as an MP, he was employed in many other ways, which probably left him with more independence: he was Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee in 1970–1974, and was much involved in helping through Parliament the passage of the Europe Act, under which Great Britain joined the EEC. His several visits on Parliamentary business included one to the smaller Caribbean dependencies in 1965, which led to a long connection with the Turks and Caicos Islands (see Section MC:P2/13 below), and Britain’s first ever Parliamentary delegation to China in 1972, which he headed. Apart from foreign affairs, Dodds-Parker was also involved in the rights of the mentally ill, and a supporter of the Channel Tunnel.

The papers in this section, as with those in MC:P2/5 above, include material relating both to Dodds-Parker’s constituency and Parliamentary work, and are divided into the following series: